High Gold prices have customers thinking twice about what to buy for Valentine's Day

Local Jewelers like Smith & Sons in Springfield say the price of gold has made customers alter their shopping habits.

With Valentines Day fast approaching chances are you’ll be out to but that special something for that special someone.

But if you’ve checked the price of gold lately, you might want to re-think your gift options. The sky high price of gold is changing the way we shop this year.

“Gold has gone through the roof,” said Andrew Smith, owner of Springfield’s Smith & Sons Jewelers. “It started at $300 when I first got into the industry.

Now its gone all the way to $1900 at the high.”

This is a big time of the year for local jewelers. Valentine’s Day always brings out the shoppers. And because the price of gold is so high. Customers are making other choices, and to keep up, Jewelers are offering more choices.

“Everything that used to be made in gold is now made in silver,” said Smith. “All the manufactures have changed what they do. Silver used to be the forgotten metal, nothing used to be made in silver, nothing good has been made in it. Now they set diamonds in silver. Silver is the new Gold lets say.”

We found the same story down Sumner Avenue at the Jewelery and Diamond Exchange. They’re carrying things they never have before. And George Sarkis, the stores owner, told us that people still buy gold, just not as much gold as they did before.

“People still love gold earrings, things like that,” said Sarkis. “If you’re going to set or have diamond stud earrings you still want them in gold. It’s good for your skin. On bigger pieces you’re just using a little less weight and still keep it fancy.”

It’s never been a better time to trade in your gold. You might just have enough to buy something nice for Valentine’s Day, and keep some extra cash in your pocket.

Andrew Smith did tell us something interesting. He said you can trade in your old gold and get today’s higher gold prices. And the gold jewelery he has in his store still carries the same price tag it did five years ago.